The invention described herein relates to the ornamental display of trees, particularly christmas trees or any tree which is not perpendicular to a horizontal floor surface.
Typically ornamental display trees are cut at the base of the trunk. The cutting is frequently uneven, resulting in a tree shaft that does not have a flat surface. When such a tree is placed in a conventional stand, or mounted on the floor, the tree does not stand "straight" or substantially perpendicular to the floor. This detracts from the aesthetic appeal of the tree. The tree shaft itself may also be crooked or have unsightly bends. Thus when the tree is placed on the floor or in a stand, the tree does not stand straight. This again detracts from the aesthetic appeal of the tree.
At the same time, it is necessary to provide a tree stand which supplies water to the base of the tree trunk located in the stand to preserve the freshness of the tree and prevent the tree from drying. A problem associated with the provision of water to the tree is that it is difficult to determine when water in the stand needs replenishing. Frequently, it is difficult to visually inspect the water level provided in the stand because branches of the tree and objects placed beneath the tree impede access to the conventional tree stand.
Various methods and devices are used to compensate for uneven trees caused by poor cuts or inherent bends in the shaft. For example, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,994,498 ("Sager") and 3,026,075 ("Phelon et al"), a set of centering screws are sometimes used to adjust the angle of vertical axis of a tree relative to the floor. This method is ineffective and cumbersome. These devices require multiple adjustments, and because the tree shafts are fixedly mounted on a center pin in a non-rotatable cup member, only limited vertical adjustments can be made.
Another common method of levelling a tree is to place shims underneath a portion of the stand itself to offset the height of one side of the stand. This method is disadvantageous because it requires additional elements, namely shims, and because it destabilizes the support stand. This method also requires a series of inefficient and time consuming attempts to find the shim of the proper thickness to provide the needed offset of the stand. Furthermore, this method may also result in a tree support position which causes water contained in the base to spill.
Other devices, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,350 ("Lencioni"), provide rotation of a tree around a vertical axis, but they do not provide angular displacement such that a tree may be easily and efficiently levelled resulting in an aesthetically appealing tree, positioned nearly perpendicularly to the floor.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tree stand which simplifies the levelling of the tree. A further object is to provide a means to indicate when additional water must be placed in the tree stand.